Navigational Chart

Mariners can now get free electronic downloads of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Raster Navigational Charts or RNCs. NOAA will produce official raster charts and deliver weekly updates with Notice to Mariners—notices containing changes in local navigational information. The NOAA Web site will contain a fully updated raster chart for each chart in NOAA's suite. A cumulative file of updates with Notice to Mariner information for each chart edition will be posted on the Web site. NOAA will distribute the free raster charts and updates the same way it distributes NOAA electronic navigational charts online.
The NOAA Coast Survey anticipates establishing a program where commercial value-added providers may download the raster charts for free, compress, encrypt, and/or package them with additional data or services, and then may sell that product. By adhering to a set of NOAA-specified practices, these raster charts will retain their official status and their original high quality and accuracy. No date has been set by which the value-added redistributors program will be in place. NOAA also plans to make the raster charts available on the Web site in an easy-to-view format for non-navigational purposes, such as port security and management, marine boundary delineation, coastal zone management, and environmental assessment and spill response.

On the recent UN World Hydrography Day the Hydrographer of Australia announced enlarged ENC coverage & a new AusENC service
AMSA's Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mick Kinley, was a guest of honour at a celebration held at the Australian Hydrographic Office in Wollongong on Thursday 21 June to celebrate United Nations World Hydrography Day.
Commodore Rod Nairn AM, RAN (Hydrographer of Australia) used the event to mark Australia's achievement of Electronic Navigational Chart

An independent consultancy and software development company will launch a new web and PC based navigational charting app at Ocean Business 2015.
Norcom Technology Limited said its eChart software combines up to date information from different sources including wreck, cable, tide and geographical data for navigational charts, making it suited for use by companies carrying out desktop studies prior to installation of offshore structures, cables, pipelines and vessel monitoring.

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is launching a new large-scale routing chart covering the busy shipping waters of Vietnam, Indonesia and the Malacca Strait. Routing Chart 5141 is the latest addition to the UKHO's routing chart series and will be published on February 27, 2014.
As well as covering a very busy shipping area, Routing Chart 5141 has been compiled in a larger scale than the UKHO's existing routing charts and features more detailed and up-to-date meteorological and

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is making available online its Raster Nautical Charts (RNC). These charts are geo-referenced, full-color images of NOAA’s paper nautical charts, published by NOAA in the .BSB format. NOAA updates the RNC for Notices to Mariners on a weekly basis. They are an official product of NOAA and meet the S-61 Standard – Raster Navigational Charts – of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and the Crescent River Port Pilots Association (CRPPA) have announced the partnering efforts of the Crescent River Port Pilots and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE-MVN) to develop and produce the innovative Mini-Inland Electronic Navigational Chart, dubbed Mini-IENC. The Mini-IENC provides essential, special vertical and horizontal navigation clearance information to the CRPPA while piloting the

Ships, barges, ferries, and recreational boats in the busy New York Harbor will be able to navigate more safely thanks to an updated version of the harbor’s nautical chart recently issued by NOAA that includes data gathered in the navigational response to the damage caused by Sandy in October 2012.
The latest edition of Chart 12334 – New York Harbor includes new depth measurements and shoreline depictions.

According to a Nov. 4 report from CBC News, the captain of a South Korean freighter has been sentenced to 14 days in a U.S. jail for commanding a vessel through the Juan de Fuca Strait at the south end of Vancouver Island while drunk and without any navigational charts.
(Source: CBC News)

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, which creates and maintains the nation’s suite of over a thousand nautical charts of U.S. coastal waters, announced major changes ahead for mariners and others who use nautical charts. Starting April 13, the federal government will no longer print traditional lithographic (paper) nautical charts, but will continue to provide other forms of nautical charts, including print on demand charts and versions for electronic charting systems.

Germany's SevenCs to demonstrate Electronic Navigational Chart production & distribution at upcoming Rotterdam expo.
The features of the product mainly focus on easy data production and effective validation of ENCs for Hydrographic Offices, Waterway Authorities, Ports, Pilots or Navies.
With its new ENC Encryptor SevenCs is taking the usability of ENC data to the next level. Local ENC data can be safely distributed via permit protection without the need to provide data via a RENC

Navionics, the leader in location-based content for the recreational boating and outdoor markets, announced today the release of a new SonarCharts chart card for use with several Garmin GPS chartplotters.
Featuring extraordinary bottom contour detail of up to 1 foot in the US and Canada

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has unveiled a new digital application that enables mariners to submit hydrographic data directly to the UKHO using their mobile device.
The ADMIRALTY H-Note App is a free digital version of the UKHO’s Hydrographic Note and will allow important

At SMM in Hamburg, Germany this week, Global Navigation Solutions (GNS), the maritime services group announces the launch of (i) its new free Essentials package, as well as (ii) an upgrade to the Voyager Planning Station dashboard, and (iii) a new bundle purchasing option.
Essentials Package

Kelvin Hughes is launching and demonstrating a host of new products and services at SMM 2014, including a port security radar system, specialist mission radome radar and displays, Voyage Data Recorders and the latest version of ChartCo PassageManager software.

At SMM in Hamburg, Germany this week, Global Navigation Solutions (GNS), the maritime services group, is launching its Vessel Management Service (VMS), the first integrated management system for total navigation compliance, to give shore-based ship managers more control of navigation compliance

The IMO-adopted ship routeing measure to enhance the safety and efficiency of navigation and protect the region’s sensitive marine environment will come into effect at 0000 UTC on 1st December 2014.
The two-way route aims to reduce the risk of collisions and groundings by

Northrop Grumman Corporation announced that its latest VisionMaster FT (VMFT) software now includes ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) as an integral element of its Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) based navigation system making additional chart information available to

A recent analysis of Australian port state control (PSC) deficiencies revealed several detentions due to incorrect use of charts.
The Australian Maritime Safety Agency (AMSA) has reported a noticeable increase in the use of unofficial charts

ChartWorld now offers OceanWise Marine Themes dataset that combines the fragmented features of traditional nautical charting merged into an almost seamless marine map. The data is more beneficial and overcomes the irregular coverage and multi scale levels of traditional charting products.

Knowing the locations of shipwrecks and other obstructions has always been important for safe navigation ‒ but mariners are not the only people who want to know about wrecks. They are also important for marine archeology, recreational diving, salvage operations, and fishing, among other interests

The new nautical chart 11525 extends eastward, to cover an additional pilot boarding area for vessels headed to the Charleston Harbor.
Ships entering the Port of Charleston will have a new and improved nautical chart that covers a larger area to ensure safer navigational approaches into the

Fugro is one of eight firms recently awarded a five-year hydrographic survey contract by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Task orders under this indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract will support development of updated navigational

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal last week affirmed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) detention of a Liberian flagged vessel SCF Yenisei, in Queensland in October 2013.
The manager of the vessel sought to have the detention of the vessel downgraded at the tribunal